Analysis and Critique of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art Strategic Plan 2006-2011

International Mon 21-02-2011

Analysis and Critique of the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art Strategic Plan 2006-2011
By sreusche |sreusche.wordpress.com

The addition of African art images, inspiring quotes, simple background about the museum, and the lack of in-depth discussion of institutional weaknesses arguably makes this an external document, and I will analyze it as such.

The Smithsonian Museum

The strategic plan begins with a visually stunning photograph. Spirit of Sisterhood, by Aida Muluneh (2000), is in the museum’s collections, drawing attention to the beauty and power of objects held by the museum. An intimate photo-portrait of two African women, Spirit of Sisterhood makes a strong statement about the familiarity and beauty of African art so often misunderstood by westerners today. This serves to immediately inform the reader that African art is not always the ethnographic objects that come to mind. The image is complimented by a quote by Anthony Kwame Appiah that speaks to the relevance of African art to all mankind, a common theme throughout the strategic plan.

The forward from the director cites the current financial constraints put on the museum due to the decrease in federal funding and increase in African art prices. After this eloquent, but blunt, admission to the main weakness of the museum, the rest of the thirteen-page document only works to heroicize the institution. The director’s opening lingers in the reader’s memory as the rest of the document speaks of the museum’s excellence in research, commitment to industry best practices, and devotion to the visitor experience.

The following introduction acts as a page-long mission statement. It underscores the relevance of African art to all of humanity as a part of world heritage, the inspiring ingenuity of African art, and the success and potential of the museum. The following background section covers the history of the founding and current success of the museum to fill in readers who are unfamiliar with the NMAfA.

The details of the strategic plan open with the mission statement: “The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art fosters the discovery and appreciation of the visual arts of Africa, the cradle of humanity” This is a powerful mission statement for many reasons. First, it is short and to the point. Second, vocabulary like “fosters”, “discovery”, and “appreciation” emphasizes a positive visitor experience, rather then the less welcoming research expertise of the museum. Thirdly, “Africa, the cradle of humanity” iterates the relevance of the collections to global audience justifying the existence of a uniquely African art museum in the Smithsonian as worthy of US government support. The mission is followed by its related “core values”, and a brief but eloquent vision statement of how they see the mission statement enacted in the future.

The goals, in short, are to be the premier African art museum, be the place to be on the mall, be financially secure, and encourage a professional and respectful workplace. Strategies include “Use the web to its full potential”, “Produce exemplary programs and publications”, and “Develop the strongest possible art and archival collections”. These strategies are not useful action steps for those who work in the museum, but give the reader a sense of the scope of the museum’s pursuits in an easily comprehensible way. Goals are 15-30 words long and strategies are 3-15 words long, written for maximum impact with minimum wordage. This makes the substance of the strategic plan incredibly easy to read compared to an internal version of the document.

Continuing on the assumption that this strategic plan is intended for marketing and development purposes, a few elements would enhance the document. The strategic plan abruptly ends after strategy 4.3. A list of curators, corporate officers, and trustees at the end of the document would make a nice official closing. Also, placing the mission statement somewhere in the first few pages would make more sense than at its current position on the seventh page. Otherwise, the National Museum of African Art’s strategic plan can be looked to as a premier example in the museum field of how to create publications that are easily comprehensible and inspiring.

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